Social ScienceOne semester of introductory college American government

AP U.S. Government and Politics

U.S. constitutional foundations, institutions, civil liberties, and political behavior with required documents and cases.

AP U.S. Government and Politics introduces students to key political concepts, ideas, institutions, policies, interactions, roles, and behaviors that characterize the constitutional system and political culture of the United States. Students study foundational documents and required Supreme Court cases and analyze data and political behavior.

$65
Single 90-minute lesson
$49.50
Lowest rate per lesson
50 lessons
Full syllabus, 75 hours
Prices and optionsRequest a tutor
Course Introduction

Why AP U.S. Government and Politics Matters

A qualifying score on the AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam can earn college credit or placement. Each college sets its own policy, so check the score your colleges ask for.

Common social science requirement at colleges
Builds civic and constitutional literacy
Foundation for pre-law and political science
Develops data analysis and argumentation
College Equivalent

American Government

Required/Recommended for Majors
Political ScienceLaw (Pre-Law)Public PolicyInternational RelationsHistoryJournalismBusiness
Exam Format
Multiple Choice55 questions (50%)
Free Response4 questions (50%)

Scored 1–5. In Bluebook, fully digital or hybrid (handwritten free responses).

AP U.S. Government and Politics course units

The units of the College Board course. Lessons follow them in the order your class takes them.

Unit 115-22% of multiple-choice score
Foundations of American Democracy
Founding documentsFederalismConstitutional compromises
Unit 225-36% of multiple-choice score
Interactions Among Branches of Government
CongressPresidencyJudiciaryBureaucracy
Unit 313-18% of multiple-choice score
Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Bill of RightsSelective incorporationEqual protection
Unit 410-15% of multiple-choice score
American Political Ideologies and Beliefs
Political socializationPublic opinionIdeology
Unit 520-27% of multiple-choice score
Political Participation
VotingElectionsPartiesInterest groupsMedia

How lessons approach AP Gov

Understanding the concepts, and answering the exam's questions the way they are scored.

Conceptual Understanding
Building deep knowledge that lasts
  • Master the required foundational documents, including the four added for 2026-27
  • Learn the required Supreme Court cases
  • Connect institutions through checks and balances
  • Interpret political data and visualizations
Exam-Specific Strategies
Techniques that maximize your score
  • Practice all four FRQ types (concept, quantitative, SCOTUS comparison, argument)
  • Apply the argument-essay rubric
  • Drill required-cases comparisons
  • Review multiple-choice data and scenario questions

Past papers and practice exams

Practice exams in the current exam format are reviewed afterwards, and the errors set the work for the next lessons.

Past papers

Released AP Gov FRQs across all four task types with scoring guidelines.

  • Full-length practice exams in the current exam format
  • 55 multiple-choice and 4 free-response questions
  • Rubric-based essay scoring
  • Feedback on required documents and cases
  • Progress tracking across all 5 units

How a practice exam is used

  1. 1
    Sit a full practice exam
    Timed, section by section
  2. 2
    Review the errors
    With your tutor, by unit and question type
  3. 3
    Targeted practice
    On the units and question types that cost points
  4. 4
    Repeat
    Before the exam

AP U.S. Government and Politics: lessons, prices and how to start

One-to-one lessons are 90 minutes, live online. Prices are set per program, so they are the same for every AP subject.

AP U.S. Government and Politics one-to-one tutoring packages
Single lesson$65Per lesson: $65Buy a lesson
10 lessons$630Per lesson: $63Buy package
20 lessons$1,200Per lesson: $60Buy package
Full syllabus · 50 lessonsLowest rate75 hours · or 2 payments of $1,350 ($2,700 in all)$2,475Per lesson: $49.50Buy packageor pay in 2

Group options

All 2026–27 AP groups are full. The AP group course is $1,755 or 3 payments of $585, 75 hours of teaching in 50 lessons, in classes of at most 6. Three or more students who come together can ask for a private group.

Ask about a private group

How do you start?

Request a free consultation: it is a conversation about your goals and timeline, not a lesson or a test. There is no separate diagnostic test for AP, because no single test stands in for a school syllabus. The first lesson does the assessment: your tutor works through your recent marked work and past-paper questions from your own specification, and reads where you stand. It is a normal paid lesson, not a free trial, and it teaches as it assesses.

Request a free consultation

Refunds

Not satisfied after your first private lesson? Full (100%) refund. Not satisfied after the first week of your group course? Full (100%) refund. No score is guaranteed. Full terms.

Every AP priceAll AP subjects

AP U.S. Government and Politics — Frequently Asked Questions

How is the AP U.S. Government and Politics exam structured?
The AP U.S. Government and Politics exam has 55 multiple-choice questions in 1 hour 20 minutes, worth 50% of the score, and 4 free-response questions in 1 hour 40 minutes, worth 50%. Knowing the split matters because the two halves reward different preparation — the multiple-choice section rewards coverage, the free-response section rewards being able to set out a method.
What college credit does AP U.S. Government and Politics carry?
One semester of introductory college American government. Credit policies are set by each university rather than by the College Board, so confirm the score your target schools require before choosing which exams to sit.
What does AP U.S. Government and Politics cover?
The course is organized into 5 units: Foundations of American Democracy, Interactions Among Branches of Government, Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, American Political Ideologies and Beliefs and Political Participation. Our tutoring follows the same order, so what you cover with a tutor lines up with what your class is doing.
What college course is AP U.S. Government and Politics equivalent to?
American Government. That is the level the exam is written to, which is why a strong AP score is treated as evidence you can handle first-year university work in the subject.
Which majors is AP U.S. Government and Politics useful for?
It is most relevant to Political Science, Law (Pre-Law), Public Policy, International Relations and 3 more. It is worth taking if it is either required for your intended major or the strongest subject you can show, since a high score in a demanding subject carries more weight than a safe pass in an easy one.